Activists Sue Over Mining Proposal

The Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and National Parks Conservation Association went to U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to file suit against two federal agencies for their roles in issuing permits for the expansion of limestone mining in western Miami-Dade County.

The groups said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to live up to their legal obligations to protect wetlands and endangered species when they agreed to let 10 mining companies destroy 5,409 acres of wetlands along the eastern fringe of the Everglades.

"We're suing to stop an act of tremendous environmental destruction," said Brad Sewell, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "We're looking to get the government, in this case the Corps of Engineers, to act in a manner that is fully responsive to the public, not just some perceived responsibility to the mining industry."

The corps, the nation's primary regulator of work in wetlands, announced in April it would issue permits for the mining companies to extract limestone for another 10 years. Limestone is an important building material that goes into roads, houses and other construction projects. The mining industry of Miami-Dade County accounts for about 14,000 jobs in direct and indirect employment.

Kerri Barsh, attorney for the four biggest mining companies, said the industry was considering intervening in the lawsuit.

"We feel that the permit review process was extensive, was comprehensive and was conducted by a variety of government environmental agencies," said Barsh, who represents Tarmac America, White Rock Quarries, Rinker Materials Corp. and Florida Rock Industries. "And we believe that the decision of the corps to issue the permits will ultimately be upheld."

To make up for the loss of wetlands, the companies must pay tens of millions of dollars for the acquisition and improvement of 7,500 acres of the nearby Pennsuco wetlands. But the lawsuit said this wouldn't make up for the environmental damage.

The lawsuit states the mining will destroy an enormous area of wildlife habitat, just as the state and federal governments spend $8 billion to restore the Everglades. The work will expose the region's groundwater to contamination from pathogens, such as cryptosporidium, that can cause fatal illnesses if they get into drinking water. And the initial 10-year permits are just the first step in a project that will ultimately consume 22,000 acres of wetlands.

"This huge mining project directly conflicts with the billions of dollars that the corps says it's going to spend to restore the Everglades," said Barbara Lange, Everglades chair of the Florida Sierra Club.

Judy Wilson, spokeswoman for the corps, said she couldn't comment because she hadn't seen the lawsuit. But she said the corps was committed to consulting constantly with the public as the Everglades restoration moves forward.

The lawsuit also states the mining would deprive endangered wood storks of important foraging areas. More than 1,400 of the heavy-billed wading birds nest next to the mining areas, the suit states. While the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initially expressed deep concern over harm to the wood storks, it abruptly dropped its opposition after the Bush administration took office, the suit states.

Jay Slack, South Florida supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said there was no political pressure to drop objections.

"I had absolutely no contact with anyone above my level about this decision," he said.

The service simply found that wood storks weren't nesting as close to the mining areas as originally thought, and they retained ample foraging areas, he said.

"My scientists basically recommended to me this decision," he said. "My scientists say there's not an issue with the wood storks."

David Fleshler can be reached at dfleshler@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4535.